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Ottawank edm market .... finally on the map?
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| Spin Laden |
Just thought I'd mention a few words on here to the four TA's (and to the three creepy lurkers) about a recent booking held two hours away in Ottawa.
'Went to see Victor Calderone this past Saturday at Barrymore's Music Hall, as part of the debut gig called 'Frequency', a new monthly tech house event by DNA Presents.
After the adversity that almost decimated the company (the theft of $600,000 in early July), DNA Presents has bounced back admirably, with a slew upcoming events on the menu. Not counting the several big names at Escapade, DNA Presents has previously booked djs such as Laidback Luke, Cosmic Gate, Chris Lake, Marcus Schossow, Paul Van Dyk and Above and Beyond, among others.
But the one gig that really caught my eye recently was the aformentioned Frequency.
Booking "non top-50 djmag djs" in a city such as Ottawa, where the edm 'scene' is very small in comparision to say, nearby Montreal, Toronto or New York City, is always a gamble.
However, something magical happened last Saturday, something that far exceeded the expectations of many, including the DNA folks themselves.
At first glance, I had my concerns as the 500-capacity Barrymore's was pretty empty for the first two hours, even though the beats raining down from Sir Jemi and Ryan Labelle were Stereo-worthy.
The layout at Barrymore's is akin to an old concert hall, which it essentially what Barrymore's is.
Picture what Stereo would have been 100 years ago, complete with balconies and that classic Vaudeville look. The sound is not the best but it is certainly better than the old Club Heaven, which is now called Mansion and is also booking edm in Ottawa, on occasion. As old as the building is, the vantage points from the balconies above and its high ceiling provides an atmophere that is perfect for edm, in my opinion.
Well, by the time Victor came on for his two-hour set, the place was packed to the rafters. And Victor didn't hold back, delivering a club-hours set with an after-hours sound.
For years it has been frustrating to know that a city of 1.1 million people, in close proximity to such major edm markets, could not have an edm night it could take the utmost pride in...but that time has finally come.
Barrymore's does have its shortcomings: small bathrooms, inefficient coatcheck and questionable sound in certain areas, but having edm at this venue is a substantial improvment that bodes well for Ottawa's edm future.
It was a pleasure seeing Seany, 84th, Wiggs, Master Kush, RobbieJ, Trancegal, and Mrs Haus.
See you all next month ;)
http://www.edmcanada.com/ottawa-events/
http://www.facebook.com/dnapresents |
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| Passskal |
Good 4 you guys!
Does it close at 2am? |
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| Spin Laden |
thanks!
10-2:45ish but it certainly caters more to our crowd rather than the dress code, bottle service places we've all come to love.
I'll try and post some vids later.. |
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| Big Boss |
Made the trek from Toronto to check this out. I had a great time. I noticed the Ottawa scene is a community, so a guy from out of town stood out, but everyone was friendly and the party was packed.
I'd go back to Ottawa for the right party... |
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| Master Kush |
| Yep great party...hopefully leads to more bookings of this nature. |
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| ALlez |
What was the crowd like? Young? Old? Gay? Straight?
As much as I was keen to see Calderone, I was intrigued to see if the crowd would be different from other DNA events at Barrymore's which have certainly been heavy on the tank-top, vodka-swilling side of things.
P.S. Was committed to go until the boards came up a bit too fast on me and crushed me collarbone.
:haha: |
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| HotSoup |
I was there, good party!
Much better crowd than past DNA events.
Sound is terrible though. ANY money spent on sound improvements will be an upgrade. I rent PA's for $40/weekend that sound WAY better than that club. |
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| Spin Laden |
Victor brought out a pretty good cross section of ppl by Ottawa standards, pretty much all the classes you listed above. Crowd was a a bit different, cuz I know some ppl that would never set foot in there to see Laidback Luke or Dirty South, for instance :p
'Shirts stayed on tho but I actually liked the vibe more than New City Gas. There is a bottle service section but it's far away from the dancefloor, unlike Vegas or other places where the BS (bottle service) eats up dancefloor space |
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| ALlez |
Spin and Hot Soup:
That's good to hear. Thanks for the report
It's good to see DNA survive the Nick Vachon Aruba 2012 Tour ™.
It cannot be stressed enough though: DO NOT EVER, EVER CHECK YOUR COAT at Barrymore's. , what a show that always is. |
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| Spin Laden |
| quote: | Originally posted by HotSoup
I was there, good party!
Much better crowd than past DNA events.
Sound is terrible though. ANY money spent on sound improvements will be an upgrade. I rent PA's for $40/weekend that sound WAY better than that club. |
sound is more booming than Club Heaven but yeah, it needs to be enhanced for these types of events.
As for coatcheck, in the past there was a Wantickets booth set up in the room just past the cashier/bank machine.. maybe if they open that up that would help a bit.. but sensing that I grabbed about four of my friend's coatchecks before Victor's final track and avoided the -storm :p |
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